TJ's Teenage Sitter
by KeybladeDetweiler
Summary: When Becky Detweiler asks her friend Alex to babysit her brother T.J., Alex expects it to be a normal sitting job. But what she gets is something she was not expecting at all. Canon based AU, no pairings.


It's Friday afternoon, and I'm in my bedroom reading a _Senor Fusion_ comic that I stole from my brother's (Who has since moved out) old stuff. He left behind his entire collection right before leaving for collage, and since then, I've been reading them. I know, you're thinking that a sixteen year-old girl should be reading things like _Teen Dream_ magazine, but that's not my kind of stuff. I prefer comic books over teen magazines. Actually, I prefer more action oriented and fantasy type stuff over the normal girly stuff, and I still watch kid cartoons on TV (Every Saturday morning!). Of course, my friends Becky and Melissa don't know about that. I always have the newest copy of the magazines they read on hand for when I see them, and I tape their favorite shows, just so they don't get suspicious.

As I reach the climax of the comic, with Senor Fusion battling a giant robot spider, the phone on my bedside table rings. I drop the comic with a groan and then reach over to pick it up.

"Hello?" I say into the receiver.

"Hey, Alex! It's me, Becky." Says the voice at the other end. It's my friend Becky Detweiler. She lives just down the street.

"Hi Becky. What's up?" I say with a heavy sigh.

"I have a favor to ask."

"And that would be?"

"I need you to babysit my little brother T. Jer- I mean, T.J. tonight."

T.J. is Becky's younger brother. He's in 4th Grade at Third Street Elementary school, the school that I went to four years ago. Whenever Becky comes over on the weekends, she always has to drop T.J. off at one of his friends' houses before she comes over. I don't see much of T.J., as he has five best friends that he's always with, but from what I've heard from Becky, he sounds terrible. Of course, I know that Becky has a tendency to over-exaggerate things. I bet he's just like any other younger brother, and she only gripes because younger brothers aren't always nice to their older sisters.

"Why do you need me to?" I ask her. I was planning to go out to see a movie tonight.

"I have a date with Jimmy. My Mom couldn't get anyone except me, so I told her I'd ask one of my friends."

"What about Melissa?"

"Going out of town tonight for a convention."

"Ok. Fine. When will you drop him off? Or do I have to come over?"

"You have to pick him up. Mom doesn't want him at home alone while she and Dad are out."

"Ok. What time?"

"Five."

"Ok. I'll be there. How long are your parents going to be gone?"

"All weekend. They get home on Sunday night."

"And when will you be home?"

"I plan on staying at Jimmy's until Sunday."

"Seriously? Shouldn't you just go out on one date and then come home?"

"It's our anniversary weekend. We've been together a year. He wants to celebrate."

"Whatever. It's not my business. So I'm stuck with T.J. the whole weekend?"

"Yep."

"I don't think Mom will mind. Does he have a Disneyland pass?"

"An Annual. We all do."

"Ok. At least we have something to do." We live in Anaheim, California. Disneyland's not far from home, so we have (And pretty much everyone in town has) annual passes.

"So it's all good? You'll do it."

"Yes. I'll do it. I'll be there at a quarter to five."

"Great! Thanks so much Alex! I owe you."

The line goes dead with a _click_. I sigh. Becky does owe me. For all the times she's borrowed money from me to buy clothes (Before she got a job), for all the times she's used me to hook her up with guys, and for all the times she's made me do her homework. She's not exactly the greatest friend, but I kind of can't get rid of her. We've known each other since first grade.

I finish my comic and then head downstairs. Mom's at the kitchen table, writing something down on a piece of notebook paper. Her suitcase is near the door, along with Dad's.

"Hey, Mom, is it ok if Becky's little brother stays here for the weekend?" I ask.

"Hmm…what was that Alex?" she asks, looking up from her paper.

"Becky needs me to babysit her brother T.J. for the weekend because both she and her parents will be busy."

"What are Mrs. and Mr. Detweiler doing this weekend?"

"They're going out of town, I think." I'm pretty sure I got this mixed up with what Melissa is doing for the weekend, but whatever.

"Oh, to the big convention in San Diego? That's where we're going."

"You're going out of town too! Do I have to go?"

"No, honey. It's for adults exclusively."

"No one under eighteen." My Dad says from the den.

"So, I'm home alone?"

"Yes dear." My Mom says.

"Can I babysit?"

"You said you're babysitting Becky's younger brother? T.J.? Sure you can babysit. But you're in charge."

"Don't wreck the house!" Dad says.

"I won't. When will you be back?"

"Sunday night."

I sigh. So, I'm stuck babysitting T.J. and I'll be home alone. Well, not alone. I'll have him. I just hope he's not the kind of kid who likes to break stuff and make huge messes.

I go out to the garage, and after opening the garage door, I mount my bike and ride off, the door closing behind me. Becky's house is right down the street from mine, and so I figure that riding my bike will be easier than the car. I pedal down the sidewalk, passing house after house. Then, I finally stop in front of the Detweiler house. Outside, Mr. and Mrs. Detweiler are loading their car with luggage. They are going out of town. I park my bike and un-mount.

"Oh, hi Alexandra!" says Mrs. Detweiler as she closes the car trunk. "You're here for T.J.?"

"Hi, Mrs. Detweiler. Yeah, I'm here for T.J." I reply. "Where is he?"

"In the house, getting ready. Here's money for tomorrow, if you decide to take him anywhere." She hands me fifty dollars, and I tuck it in my pocket.

"Is there anything I need to know about him?"

"Not really. Just don't give him too much junk food and candy, and make sure he doesn't stay up past eight o'clock. That's his bedtime."

"Ok."

I stand outside, waiting. Becky eventually comes out of the house, dressed in date night clothes and holding an overnight bag and her purse in one hand, and her car keys in the other.

"Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad. Bye, Alex. Bye, T-Jerk." She says, getting into her car. I glance at the front door and see T.J., brown-haired and freckle faced, and a little chubby, wearing a white t-shirt, baggy blue jeans, a baggy green jacket, and a red snapback. He's carrying a blue sleeping bag, an overnight bag, and a backpack. He gives Becky a glare and then, turns toward me. Becky drives away.

"So, where's my sitter?" T.J. asks his Mom.

"Right there. Next to the bike." She says, pointing at me. I wave.

"Is she one of Becky's friends?" T.J. whispers.

"Yes, but she's nothing like Becky. I can promise you that."

"Ok. Bye Mom, Dad." He walks over to me.

"Hey there." He says to me.

"Hi T.J. I'm Alex."

"Hi Alex. I guess I'm staying with you for the weekend?" he asks.

"Yeah. Do you have a bike? My house is right down the street."

"I've got one. Just a second."

He runs over to the family garage and grabs a red bike (With a headlight) and a blue and red striped helmet. He runs back, towing the bike with him.

"Ready?" I ask.

"Yep." He says in reply.

"Ok. Let's go. I'll race you!"

And we're off. I start out in the lead, but T.J. quickly passes me. I have a feeling that he's done this before, probably with his friends. My friends never rode bikes with me. They were always afraid of crashing or getting dirty. It's kind of hard to have fun when your friends are afraid to.

We ride back to my house, T.J. whooping with joy. We finally make it back to my house to find my parents gone.

"They've already left." I say as I wheel my bike up to the garage.

"Your parents?" he asks.

"Yeah. They're going to some convention this weekend. We're home alone."

At this, T.J. smiles a wide grin and then says, "Ten-der!"


End file.
